1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ladies belt accessories, and more particularly to devices for supporting the dangling free end of the belt in alignment with the body of the belt.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ladies belts come in a variety of lengths and are made of a wide variety of materials ranging from thin, supple material such as cloth or glove leather to relatively thick and stiff leather or braided or woven belts of materials such as cotton. When buckled, the free end of the belt hangs down in an unslightly manner unless it is somehow supported next to and in alignment with the main portion of the belt encircling the waist of the user.
Various devices have been proposed for supporting the loose belt end in devices having a closed loop portion threaded onto the belt and another portion which can be clamped onto the loose belt end. Typical of these devices are those shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,414,048 issued Apr. 25, 1922 to Henry Schlutz, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,132 issued Dec. 9, 1986 to Vivian C. Markham.
A belt loop stay consisting of a single loop which is threaded on the belt and through which the free end of the belt is threaded is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,303 issued Apr. 11, 1989 to Mark J. Udelhofen.
A belt clasp is shown in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 112,997. The patent contains no information at all as to how or where the belt clasp is used, nor whether it has anything to do with supporting the free end of the belt.
Clip devices for uses other than in connection with belts are shown in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 141,949 issued Aug. 7, 1945 to John F. Pivcevich; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 239,147 issued Mar. 16, 1976 to Ralph M. Karlsen; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 295,501 issued May 3, 1988 to Ernest E. Brayford.
The above-listed patents are believed to be relevant to the present invention because they were adduced by a prior art search made by an independent searcher, and a copy of each of the above-listed patents is supplied to the Patent and Trademark Office herewith.